Actor Rob Lowe took to Instagram on Thursday to slam actress Bella Thorne, who complained on Twitter that the road closures in Santa Barbara, Calif., forced her to miss her boyfriend’s concert performance.
“This attitude is why people hate celebrities/Hollywood. Bella, I’m sorry you were inconvenienced. We will try to move out our dead quicker,” Lowe posted.
More than two full days after mudslides ravaged the coastal town of Montecito, the search for the missing became an increasingly desperate exercise Thursday, with growing doubts about whether anyone would be found alive.
Seventeen people from ages 3 to 89 were confirmed dead, and more than 40 others were unaccounted for.
"In disaster circumstances there have been many miraculous stories lasting many days and we certainly are searching for a miracle right now," Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown said. He noted that some people had been rescued Thursday.
Thorne’s tweet read, “F—k u 101 so santa Barbra (sic). I’m missing my boyfriends (sic) first date on his tour.”
The 20-year-old, who got her big break on Disney Channel's "Shake it Up," has since deleted the tweet and on Thursday tweeted, “F—k just caught up on some news had no idea why 101 was shut down…get home to your family safe."
Santa Barbara County authorities offered wildly fluctuating numbers of the missing throughout the day. A spokeswoman early in the day sent a shudder through the community when she said the number of people unaccounted for had surged from 16 to 48. Within an hour, they said they had made a clerical error and the actual number of missing was eight.
"How does that happen?" resident David Weinert asked. "That's a crazy mistake to make."
Later in the day, however, the sheriff said the number was at 43, combining missing persons reports filed with law enforcement and also inquiries from people who hadn't been able to contact family members or friends.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.